CityFleet Taxicard Customer Care Policy

1. Objective

- To provide a fair, consistent and comprehensive first time response to any matters raised by Taxicard customers.

- To investigate and address all of the issues raised and put measures in place, where appropriate, to satisfy the customer and to prevent reoccurrence.

- To work collaboratively and in partnership with London Councils adopting the same customer care values which aim to deliver fairness, equality, inclusion, respect and continuous improvement to all customers.

- To put customers first by understanding their needs and delivering a consistently high standard of service which exceeds expectations.

- To communicate clearly and effectively using a range of accessible communication methods to best suit the needs of the individual customer.

How to make a complaint

- Telephone complaints can be made by either calling Customer Services on 020 7908 0271 (Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00) and pressing option 3 or the Taxicard booking line on 020 7763 5001 (anytime).

- Email complaints can be made by emailing taxicardcomplaint@cityfleet.co.uk

- Letters of complaint should be addressed to the Customer Services Team and sent to CityFleet Networks Limited, 7 Woodfield Road, London, W9 2BA

- General enquiries can be made by emailing taxicardquery@cityfleet.co.uk

For all complaints customers should provide the Taxicard Number and full details of the complaint. Customers will be given a unique reference number, which will need to be provided if following up on the matter. If you are not offered a reference number please request one.

Complaint Response Stages

There is a three stage complaint process.

All written complaints or queries will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt and if possible resolved immediately. Stage One: Customer Services Team Investigation

- All complaints and queries will be resolved within 10 working days or sooner if possible with the customer advised if and why this is not going to be possible, for example, because further investigation is required or parties relevant to the investigation are unavailable.

- The Customer Services team member who investigates the matter and responds may provide clarification if requested on any points made in their response, but will not review their own response if the complainant is not satisfied. The Customer Services Supervisor will provide a response in such instances.

- If the customer is still not satisfied the issue should be referred to stage two the same working day or as soon as possible thereafter.

- It is the responsibility of the Customer Services team to identify if a complaint is more serious and to escalate these immediately to either stage two or stage three.

Stage Two: Account Manager Investigation

- Any complaint not resolved at stage one will be escalated to the Account Manager to review and respond to within 5 working days

- The Account Manager may provide clarification if requested by the customer on any points made in his response, but will not review his own response if the complainant is not satisfied.

- If the customer is still not satisfied the issue should be referred to stage three the same working day or as soon as possible thereafter.

- London Councils, who manage the Taxicard scheme on behalf of the London boroughs, will be provided with a copy of all complaints and stage two responses by the next working day after they are sent to the complainant.

Stage Three: Directorate Investigation

- All complaints not resolved at stage two will be escalated to the Director of Client Services to review and respond to within 5 working days where possible. • If the situation is particularly complex an initial response will be sent within five working days to inform the customer that the complaint has been received. A full review will then be carried out within 20 working days and a response provided.

• London Councils will be provided with a copy of all complaints and stage three responses by the next working day after they are sent to the complainant.

This is the final stage of the CityFleet complaint handling procedure. If the customer is still not satisfied the complaint and all related correspondence should be forwarded to taxicard@londoncouncils.gov.uk for the attention of the Mobility Services Manager to review and respond.

Depending on the situation London Councils staff may already be involved in the complaint and have written separately to the customer. London Councils’ own internal complaint handling process will then be actioned, with complaints being handled at the appropriate level.

2. Monitoring

• A random sample of complaints and responses will be sent to London Councils on a monthly basis for review.

• The Customer Service Supervisor and / or Account Manager will monitor internal complaint handling and undertake spot checks for quality and consistency.

3. Requirements

• London Councils will be sent a set of query/complaint reports monthly with full details of all queries/complaints received and summaries of the types and outcomes including the number upheld/not upheld.

• London Councils will be informed if any complaints result in disciplinary action against drivers or any CityFleet staff.

• London Councils will be informed if any drivers are referred to TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire Directorate (TPH)

What you should expect from your taxi or private hire driver

You should expect your taxi or private hire driver to offer assistance where required. If you need a specific form of assistance, it is advisable to mention this when booking and please do not hesitate to ask your driver for it. In addition, there are some legal requirements on taxi and private hire drivers which include:

- Taxi drivers are required to assist wheelchair passengers into and out of the taxi, and safely secure passengers before commencing the journey.
- Taxi and private hire drivers are required to accept all assistance dogs accompanying a passenger. The assistance dog should be allowed to be seated by the passenger’s feet.

Unless drivers have a medical exemption they are legally obliged to carry wheelchair users and assistance dogs at no additional cost. Drivers with a medical exemption must clearly display the exception certificate.

CityFleet and TfL need to know if a taxi or private hire driver does not offer you the assistance they are required to, so please let them know if you have a poor experience. You can report driver conduct issues from either taxi or private hire drivers, or any poor experiences you have with private hire operators either to CityFleet customer services on 020 7908 0271 or taxicardcomplaint@cityfleet.co.uk and/or to TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire team directly:

- Phone: 0343 222 4000
- Email: TaxiPrivateHireComplaints@tfl.gov.uk